Life Amongst the Dead
by Levana Fay
Summary: It's after the Racoon City 'accident' and the virus is slowly spreading from the infected survivors of the disaster. The army and the armed agencies are called upon to help clear the streets. Jibbs, Tiva, McAbby and maybe Alice/Carlos.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Life Amongst the Dead

Disclaimer: I only own this story.

Summary: It's after the Racoon City 'accident' and the virus is slowly spreading from the infected survivors of the disaster. The police force is struggling to contain a sudden surge of disgusting murders, and after their own people begin joining the ranks of the mindless undead, the army and the armed agencies are called upon to help clear the streets.

Rating: T for descriptions of nasty deaths, zombies and some language. Maybe some romance too.

A.N.: This is AU, obviously, and Jenny is alive in this which means Mike is too, and that this is pre Somalia. Also Tim looks a healthy weight rather than the sickly stick insect look he has going on right now. I don't want to kill off any main characters, but if it seems unavoidable then you have my most sincere apologies if the one to die is your favourite. I know that sucks. This is a crossover with the Resident Evil movie-verse as my only play through the games (RE Outbreak I think) ended in my characters death after five horrible minutes. (She was infected the moment she left the pub bathroom). Too terrifying to try again.

Although the picture painted in Extinction is a nice, grim, realistic post apocalyptic life for if zombies took over the world, something doesn't sit right with me. I mean, doesn't practically everyone in America own a gun? Perhaps that is a stereotype, but still, how did that many well armed people die? I can see us over in England becoming endangered because all we have to defend ourselves with is sport equipment and any other heavy objects we can get our hands on. Not a good outlook for the hundreds, perhaps thousands of people whose favourite sport is football.

Geography: Well obviously Racoon City is not a real place but the city is supposed to be in the American Midwest, however I only have the films to go off since the games wiki is incredibly unhelpful so I decided that since Apocalypse was filmed in Toronto, Canada, I would compromise between the two and stick it on the other side of the border in Ohio. The Appalachian Mountains can sub for Arklay, despite not being in the Midwest, because the southeast part of Ohio is apparently quite hilly and close enough for the purposes of this story. (Sorry if you live there and don't agree with my admittedly pithy research into where it should go, and the fact you guys get eaten first.)

* * *

><p>The motel room was shabby, the furniture was old and worn, the 80's patterns faded and barely discernable. The paper was curling off of the walls and the curtains were yellow with age, or possibly cigarette residue. <em>You certainly get what you pay for<em>, Angela Ashford thought grimly, staring at nothing in particular as she sat stiffly on the bed while the adults spoke quietly in the other room. She wasn't allowed to participate in their discussions because she wasn't old enough, or maybe they thought they were sparing her childish innocence by keeping her away from the horrible topic. How could they though? She was deeply involved in it, more so than anyone, except maybe Alice and she had lost her soft and fluffy outlook on life in Racoon City.

As soon as those men in suits had come to get her from school she had known that something terrible had happened. She had taken a last look at the familiar faces of her classmates, her friends, hoping that it would be the last image she had of them if the worst happened, but life was cruel to her. Her car had been hit and she had been rendered unconscious. When she had awoken she had been upside-down in the wreck with her two escorts dead, and like anyone in an uncertain and frightening situation she had panicked and decided to return to somewhere safe, somewhere familiar; her school.

When she had arrived however, she had realised that she was not safe there. Her friends had turned and the screams of the last survivors had echoed down the corridors. She had been terrified, but she had the advantage of being saturated with the virus that was killing them. The dead would pass right by her and not realise she was alive. Her daddy would never leave her, she had reasoned, he would send someone else to get her, so it would be best to stay somewhere he knew she would be.

Angela closed her eyes against the anguish that threatened to overwhelm her. Her daddy was gone now; he had died right in front of her, had been _murdered_ right in front of her. Angela felt the tears escape and angrily wiped them away. She didn't see why her daddy had had to die; he had done what any loving parent would do for their child. She knew that he would have been evacuated long before the infection had taken over the city if she had been extracted successfully the first time, which meant he had stayed for her. He had died because of her. She hadn't really had time to grieve because there was always someone with her and she had tried to show how mature she was by not crying around them, except in stolen moments like this. With the others all in the other room she had no need to pretend to be strong so she let her guard down, and unfortunately that brought other feelings to the surface too.

The man who had killed her daddy, the Umbrella man called Cain, had only done so when Alice had refused to engage in a pointless fight. It was to show Alice that her stubbornness would only get everyone killed, it had had nothing to do with her daddy; it was all about Alice. Angela shook her head and pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle her sobs. She resented Alice for her part in her daddy's death; even though she knew that Alice hadn't meant for it to happen a small part of her blamed her. She couldn't help it, and that made her feel guilty, especially after Alice had sacrificed herself for her in the helicopter.

Angela felt like she was alone in this madness. Carlos and LJ, although caring and patient, didn't really interact with her often and Alice was distant since being rescued from Umbrella. Jill was the only one who spoke with her and seemed to have the most time for her. They had both lost someone dear to them in Racoon City, which had helped to bring them together, but Angela was still a child to them, a burden that was forced on them. They felt responsible for her since her daddy was dead so they kept her around, but she felt useless. She wanted to be like Jill; strong, determined, a survivor, rather than the frightened little girl the others saw her as. She focussed on that thought and gradually calmed down and wiped away the evidence of her breakdown. Jill would be finding a way to help with their situation, not crying in another room while someone else decided what was going on.

Angela got up from the bed and crept as silently as she could to the door, pressing her ear against it to listen to what the others were saying. They were mostly just talking about how neither Jill nor Carlos could use their money to fund them because they were wanted by the police for the 'hoax' video. Angela sighed softly, she had no money to help them either, and even if she could hack her father's accounts, he would be classed dead by now anyway. All of his money would have been taken by the bank or the government or whoever took dead people's money. She couldn't even help in that way either. Was her meagre account gone too? Did anyone know she was alive?

She cast a worried look at the lunchbox she held tightly to her chest. Her life depended upon what she kept hidden in there, but she hadn't worried about that until after leaving Racoon City. She had thought that her daddy would be with her so she had no reason to think about it, but she did now. She had only a few tubes of antivirus left. That would keep her alive for about half a year, maybe less. After that she would either mutate or die and then reanimate, forcing Jill and the others to kill her before she could kill them. She shuddered, hugging her lunchbox to her. She didn't want to die, and she certainly didn't want to become one of those _things_.

Determined to help somehow she returned to eavesdropping. They were just discussing what they could get away with not paying for when LJ cursed, his way of asking for their attention. He turned up the volume on the TV, apparently having been watching it silently for some reason, and a news reporters voice came over loud and clear talking about unexplained, violent murders that were happening all over Belmont County. The police had had to use deadly force to take out the murderers, and in St. Clairesville the fight was still ongoing, with contact completely lost with Blaine and Maynard. The police from nearby Martins Ferry and Bridgeport were being dispatched to find out what was wrong. So far the murders were being blamed on terrorists that must have put something in the county drinking water supply that made the inhabitants mentally unstable.

"That's close to Racoon City." Jill stated significantly, and Angela heard a round of sighs from the adults.

"So it got out after all." Carlos said his tone somewhere between angry and incredulous.

"Or they started their experiments over in another city and it escaped again." Alice countered.

"Yeah, but my moneys on one of them suits gettin' bit. Ain't no way he's ownin' up to that." LJ declared, sniggering humourlessly.

"If only someone had taken Terri's video seriously, rather than swallowing Umbrella's lies, they would have recognised the signs and eliminated the threat before it could spread." Carlos added wistfully, silence following his words as everyone including Angela thought of the lives that would have been saved if Umbrella's true nature had been uncovered, but no one wanted to believe it was true. Even though they had stated that it was a virus that had done this, people had still scoffed at the idea of zombies running around. They were supernatural creatures after all, and everyone knew that all of that stuff was fantasy, not fact.

"So what do we do?" Alice asked and dead silence followed until Jill broke it.

"What do you mean 'what do we do'? We already tried to help; look what it got us." She raged.

"None of those people deserve to die; we could help them somehow-" Carlos said but was cut off by Jill

"How? We gave them all of the evidence they needed to stop this from happening again and they ignored it. Rereleasing the video will only get the feds onto us, or worse; Umbrella. I'm not putting mine or Angie's ass on the line for a bunch of-."

"We have to try. Even if only one person realises the truth, that's one more person out there to help others." Carlos retorted and his tone brooked no argument.

Angela pulled away from the door thinking quickly. This was her chance to do something, to make a difference. Her daddy had been very good with computers, and since it had been just the two of them he had taught her how to use them in the event they were separated for any reason. She was an intelligent girl so hacking was one of the skills he had taught her 'just in case', but she was only to use it if there was no other legal choice. Now was one of those times she reasoned grimly, hoping her daddy would forgive her if he could.

The President could shut down umbrella if he knew what was going on, if he knew the truth, but how could she get the video to him? She couldn't. There was too much security around him, but maybe she could send it to others and they could convince him to watch it. She could hack into the FBI's email database and send the video to every Agent in the building, but would that be enough? Maybe she needed to expand her view. The FBI wasn't the only Federal Agency in DC, she could probably get it to the Secret Service and that Navy one... she couldn't recall the name. Did the CIA have a base in the Capital? Probably. Okay, she could do that... but surely they had all seen it before, when Jill and Carlos had first released it. What if they recognised it and just deleted it as soon as it started playing? She needed some sort of hook to get them interested in it, but what?

Angela pulled out her father's laptop from her school bag and opened it up. She quickly accessed the internet and then stopped to think. Maybe... if she drew parallels between the video and what was happening in St. Clairesville they would realise that they had told the truth all along. With that thought in mind she hacked her way into the security camera's in . She was a good student and a fast learner, but it still took her an uncomfortable ten minutes to get in. She drew a sharp breath and quickly averted her eyes, linking to another feed. She had to be strong, it didn't matter if her nightmares never went away; this could save lives. She looked up and gazed at the screen. The view was the same as the last one. Cars were overturned, some on fire and there was no one alive, just dead bodies littering the streets. The undead had moved on from this area.

Angela steeled herself and searched every camera she could, finally finding a large group of survivors heading to safety. She recorded them shooting the undead in the head, obviously having learned that anywhere else doesn't work. Then she concentrated on getting some close ups of the obviously dead zombies. Once she decided she had enough footage to prove her point she closed her feed and started pulling bits from the video and putting it before the bits she had just gotten from St. Clairesville. Now she just had to get them to bother watching it.

Angela glanced at the door to the bedroom and prayed that her luck would hold for just a little longer. She dug Terri's video camera out of her bag, which she had been asked to keep because at the time she had been the only one with convenient storage space (though Carlos had considerately carried her bag for her after that). She opened it and made sure it had a memory card in it, and then checked the power. It would last long enough for her to record a short message. Good. Now all she had to figure out was what to say.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I only own this story.

A.N.: I am going with the 'canon' demise of the president, as shown in the novelisation of Extinction. Thank you to ladybugsmomma and IronPhoenix for reviewing!

* * *

><p>Director Jennifer Shepard sighed tiredly and stared out of the tinted glass of her town car as she was driven back to the Navy Yard. She had just finished what Jethro would call an 'ass kissing session' up on the hill and it had been quite draining. As far as funding went, NCIS had once again been scraping up the dregs in the hopes of buying something remotely useful. It had been a pitched battle to get her Agency some of the recognition it deserved, but she had satisfactorily managed to extract more money for NCIS from some of the more financially wealthy, upping the income she had to work with by about 2%. Not a lot, but enough to save up for something good for Abby or Ducky. <em>It's more than a few other Agencies are getting<em>, she thought, smug that she had lifted NCIS from the very bottom.

The car bounced slightly as it drove over a pothole, bringing her out of her thoughts of success as she narrowly avoided hitting her head against the window. With a sigh and a glare at the driver for good measure she sat back and frowned. She was a little troubled by the other topic that had been brought up at the meeting; the murders happening in Ohio.

Unfortunately it seemed that whoever had targeted the US had not just infected one water supply. Cases of the same strange murderous behaviour had been reported in Oregon and Louisiana too, even though they were nowhere near Ohio. It had been hushed up to avoid mass panic but it was only a matter of time before it was leaked to the press. It was hoped that the situation could be dealt with before that happened though.

Apparently the police in Blaine and Maynard had been completely overwhelmed and the survivors were infected now, too. There was enough ammunition for them, but too many of the citizens that were contaminated with the mystery psychotic were swarming them at once.

The local LEO's were effectively undermanned, so in desperation to avoid more needless deaths congress had informed all Agency Directors (excluding the NSA, CIA and DoD who were attempting to track down who had released this mysterious contagion) that their Agents were to cease normal activities (with the exception of any very important MTAC conferences), hit the streets and join up with local law enforcement in an attempt to quarantine the affected areas and stop the contamination from spreading. The army and Marine Corps had already been drafted and were spreading out across the worst affected areas.

According to his representative, the President himself was currently awaiting reports from the NSA, CIA and DoD about possible causes of the strange murder outbreaks. He would then hold a meeting with the joint chiefs and attempt to find a diplomatic solution to getting an antidote from whoever had attacked them, or if necessary prepare to send in a strike team to bring one back by force.

The Umbrella Corporation had offered its resources to help stem the tide and had even begun producing a basic antiviral agent to combat it, but it was useless after a certain amount of time passed after infection. The efforts of the pharmaceutical company were greatly appreciated, no matter how small the contribution. The CIA couldn't make heads or tails of the virus, but the Umbrella scientists had quickly made significant headway in understanding its makeup.

A small delivery of antivirus would be delivered to NCIS soon so the Agents could inoculate those that they could bring in peacefully, but a voice in the back of Jenny's head told her to make sure they kept some for themselves too. The last thing they needed was for them to have to shoot each other. One of Umbrella's scientists would be calling Ducky soon to tell him everything he needs to know about the antivirus so he can pass the information along to the Agents.

The car pulled up outside NCIS and Jenny swiftly climbed out, thanking her driver as she walked into the building. She had to sort out which teams she would be sending where to help contain the illness, but first she had to speak with the NCIS assets that were dotted around the states on missions, or at confidential offices. She entered the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. As the doors began to close she pulled out her phone and checked it for any messages or missed calls. None.

Suddenly, a hand appeared between the elevator doors stopping them from closing all the way. Jenny instinctively began to take a step backwards before catching herself. The doors opened again to reveal a man who looked quite out of breath; obviously he was in a rush. He looked up at her in surprise and stopped short between the lift doors.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I thought it was empty." He said, seemingly a little confused. She smiled graciously to allay his nerves.

"That's quite alright; I'm not in a hurry." She told him, stepping to one side of the lift. He strode in and stood next to her, both of them focussing on the floor indicator. Uncomfortable silence ensued, broken only by the man's laboured breathing. Jenny glanced at him out of the corner of her eye in concern. He wasn't overweight but looked quite tired and sickly; a thin sheen of sweat covered his face. Perhaps he'd ran for the lift? He didn't seem to be in immediate danger of a heart attack so she ignored his presence.

A few seconds went by and then the man began to cough. It sounded like he was about to cough his lungs right out of his chest. It was painful to listen to so she could only imagine what it felt like. He ended up bent double, a hand stretched out to the side of the lift, the other pressed against his mouth. She quickly dug a packet of tissues out of her bag and offered him one when he straightened up. He thanked her and took it, swiftly wiping his hand and mouth and then hastily shoving the used tissue into his pocket. She went back to ignoring his presence, not really feeling like she wanted to breathe until she was out of the confined space. The doors opened on her floor and she was the first one out.

To her surprise he stepped off when she did and followed her through the half empty squad room and up the stairs. When she crossed the balcony, entered her waiting area and found that he was still following her she gestured to her assistant to stop him. Cynthia nodded discreetly and stepped around her desk, intercepting the man as he walked in. Jenny opened the door to her office and stepped inside; closing it behind her to shut out the sound of the apologies the man was showering Cynthia with.

Now that she was alone in her own space she relaxed and took off her coat, hanging it on the hook by the door. She crossed the room to her desk and put her bag on it as she sat down in her soft leather chair. She turned on her desktop computer and dug her keys out of her bag. Picking out the smallest key, she unlocked the drawer in the side of her desk and opened it. Inside was her side arm (she also had a small handgun in her bag for personal protection), a bottle of pills and some photographs, memories.

Jenny scowled angrily as she picked up the bottle of Prednisone, feeling that it was lighter than usual. She'd need more soon. She poured out one of the pink pills and put it in her mouth, swallowing quickly with the help of the bottle of water she had left on her desk from lunch. She tossed the pill bottle back in the drawer and closed it in disgust. She had quite successfully suppressed the knowledge of why she needed the pills while she was working, but at a certain time every few days it came back to her in full force; she was dying.

Her doctor had told her weeks ago that she had a few months to live, but part of her hadn't believed him, still didn't. Then she'd had Ducky do a muscle biopsy and a blood test. Ducky; her trusted friend and confidante had given her the same diagnosis, and she was slowly coming to terms with it. Her Creatine Phosphokinase (CK) count had increased significantly and the X rays he had taken a look at showed that her muscles were wasting. She had Muscular Dystrophy. How it had taken over her body so suddenly without giving away any signs the doctors couldn't tell her, but it had and that was that.

She had tried to get her affairs in order; who would replace her in her job, recommendations and evaluations for the Agents who served under her, her Will, etc, but when she started, sorrow overwhelmed her. It felt too final; like she was signing her life away by dividing up her estate to the people she loved. There was no family to inherit her things; just her friends at NCIS, of which there wasn't really very many. Being the boss made keeping friendships difficult, and her job took up most of her time so she was practically a recluse. The friends she did have she had alienated over the past year due to the La Grenouille fiasco. Would they miss her when she was gone? Would they really care if she told them she was dying?

She sighed and turned to her computer, pulling up a spreadsheet so she could easily divide up her Agents into reasonably sized groups. One team in particular she didn't want to send too far away: Gibbs'. Was it selfish of her to want to keep her friends nearby? Probably, but right now she wanted her loved ones close, _needed_ in fact. Her intercom buzzed and Cynthia's voice floated out to her.

"_I'm sorry to disturb you Director but there's a man out here who wants to speak to you. He says he wants to make a complaint about Special Agent Gibbs' investigation_." She informed her, her voice a little strained. Jenny pursed her lips and huffed angrily. _Gibbs will be the death of me_, she thought grimly. _He'll never learn to play nice_.

"I'll be busy for the next half hour. Is it urgent?" she asked, hoping that it wasn't. She didn't have the time to spare to smooth out the ruffled feathers of some other Agency, or even a disgruntled ex-suspect.

"_No, Director, He's happy to wait for your full attention_." Cynthia replied significantly and Jenny rolled her eyes. It must be a serious grievance for them to be happy to wait half an hour to see her. _What have you done now, Jethro?_

"Thank you, Cynthia." She said, pressing the speakerphone button off and pulling out her phone. It would take about twenty minutes to call all of her assets around the US and then she would address the Agents in the building. She sent Cynthia an email to have the Agents assembled in the squad room to wait for her and then she picked out the first number, the LA office, and called it.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Jenny was standing halfway down the stairs with Ducky by her side, facing all of her Agents. They had assembled as ordered and were now casting glances at a trolley that held a couple of hundred vials of green liquid, which was parked by the windows with a huge map tacked on the wall beside it. Jenny watched her Agents fondly, catching Ziva's eye and inclining her head to her former partner as she did so. Ziva David smiled innocently as her new partner Tony DiNozzo rubbed his ear, throwing accusing glances at her. Jenny couldn't imagine why her Israeli friend had felt it necessary to lick his ear again, but since it was those two she decided she was better off not knowing.<p>

She glanced around for Jethro, wondering why he hadn't administered head-slaps to his team for their behaviour and found that he was sitting on the edge of his desk, tactfully still working. That didn't surprise her; work was his life, just as it was for her. They were alike in so many ways it was scary sometimes, but it had made them fantastic partners, in more ways than one. She obviously watched him for longer than was strictly appropriate, as Ducky deftly nudged her without being too noticeable. She had a tendency to watch over team Gibbs more than the others, which she maintained was because they got into the worst trouble. She hoped she wouldn't lose a single one of them today, but that was what the antivirus was for. They were looking it over curiously as she started speaking.

"Just under an hour ago I was informed by Congress that all Armed Federal Agencies were to stop their daily actions. We are required to join local law enforcement in an attempt to stop the spread of an insidious and highly contagious virus. I'm sure you are all aware of the murders in Belmont County, well that's not the only place that is affected. Outbreaks have been reported in Louisiana and Oregon as well. I have sent all of our assets still in the US to help out wherever they currently are." She told them, and a quiet mumble took over as the Agents discussed the other outbreaks. Jenny cut it off before it got out of hand. "You will all stay in your teams, as I'm sure you will work better with familiar faces around you, but you will all have one of the desk Agents from legal with you. This Agent will be in charge of your antivirus supplies." She gestured to the green vials. "The Umbrella Corporation has developed a basic antivirus to combat the sickness, but it has limited effectiveness. Ducky has been briefed on this and will tell you more." She stepped back and let Ducky take her place.

"The virus appears to be transmitted through bodily fluids, specifically saliva. The infected seem to be driven to bite, so avoid that at all costs. The antivirus is only effective for up to two hours after a single bite, after that it is useless. Effectiveness reduces as the number of bites increases, so get it injected fast. If the infected person will not, or cannot speak or understand you then they are unfortunately too far gone and need to be put out of their misery. A single shot to the head will suffice; make it quick and clean please; they are someone's loved ones after all."

"What if Umbrella comes up with an antidote?" someone asked, obviously not wanting to start shooting civilians if they can be cured.

"It matters little, from what I have been told the virus is extremely destructive. It seems to boost resilience to injury, when in fact it causes excruciating pain which drives the infected mad. Their bodies break down at the cellular level, inducing delirium and a slow, agonising death. There is no cure from cellular breakdown of that magnitude. You'd be doing them a disservice to leave them alive in that state."

"Its zombies, I'm telling you. It's just like that Racoon city tape-"

"Oh please! Spare me."

"Trust you to take something like that seriously."

"It's not a joke, it really is zombies."

"I'm not finding you, making fun of this illness, very amusing. This is serious."

"I'm not making fun!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, please calm down." Jenny ordered, her voice raised over the commotion. The Agents quieted and returned their attention to Ducky.

"Thank you Director." He said and then looked directly at the Agents that had been talking. "I haven't had a chance to see this virus for myself, but I highly doubt it is of supernatural origins." He soothed, but the Agent was unmoved.

"The tape said-"

"I'm aware of what it said, I have watched it also. If you are that adamant then nothing I can say will dissuade you from your belief. Just be extra careful." Ducky advised and the Agent nodded. His teammates rolled their eyes at him but he ignored them.

"Abby and Ducky will hand you your share of antivirus and then you are to take your positions, which Cynthia has marked for you on the map." Jenny informed them, looking around at each and every one of them. "I want no unnecessary risks from any of you. If your position is in danger, fall back and regroup. If you run out of antivirus then come back here for more. Alright. Good luck." As soon as she finished speaking the Agents moved over to the trolley, were Abby was handing out the antivirus with a smile. Ducky and Jenny walked down the stairs, ducky moving to the trolley to help Abby, while Jenny went the opposite way, towards a certain Agents desk.

Jethro was still working, his silver haired head bent over his keyboard and his fingers moving haltingly, but quickly over the keys. Jenny came to a stop in front of him, preparing to get his attention when the corner of his mouth twitched up into a smile.

"Something I can do for you, Director?" he asked, drawing out her title to annoy her. She let it slide and glanced over his shoulder at his computer screen. He was surfing a website for boat waterproofing wax. She smiled and shook her head in amusement.

"Tell me you at least heard a little of what that meeting was about." She said with an undercurrent of laughter.

"I heard it all, and my team is getting the stuff we'll need." He replied smugly, finally looking away from his screen and towards her. A few seconds later he found her face. "Aren't you warm in all that?" he asked, gesturing to her clothes. She pressed her lips together in an attempt to keep her expression smooth.

"Clothes, Jethro?" she asked innocently and he cracked a smile.

"Three _layers_ of clothes." He retorted, watching her carefully. She was warm actually, but not uncomfortably so. She needed the layers to keep warm now that she was getting thinner and weaker. It also made the effect of the weight loss less drastic, but Jethro knew her. He could see through her attempts at disguising her illness, he even seemed to know that she was ill. She had denied it when he'd asked but soon she wouldn't be able to hide it.

"I didn't realise you were a fashion critic." She replied, hoping her smooth expression would last.

"I'm not. I'm just... concerned." He admitted, carefully scrutinising her. She wanted to tell him, she wanted to have someone to comfort her, but she wasn't that selfish. He didn't deserve to be burdened with her once she reached the point she could no longer walk. She wouldn't be able to look him in the face when she became completely dependent on someone else for basic actions that people took for granted, like showering or going to the toilet on their own. Her body was failing her and she was scared, but she had no right to dump her problems on him and she really couldn't take the pity.

"I'm fine, Jethro." She said, willing him to believe her, but his eyes told her she'd had the opposite effect. "Anyway, you have a job to do, and I have a complaint against you to listen to." She added, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Ugh, it'll be the victim's brother; he was being an ass on the phone, so that's what he got back." Gibbs said, shrugging, apparently not bothered by the man's complaint, which was probably the case. If he was bothered by complaints then Jenny's job would be a hell of a lot easier.

"You're supposed to be sensitive to the victim's family." She scolded half-heartedly; glad to be on a safe topic now. Jethro smirked and glanced up towards her office.

"Not when he's a suspect." He said, effectively ending the conversation and moving towards his team.

"Jethro." She called after him, and he turned expectantly, along with half the curious occupants of the squad room. Jenny smiled at them in amusement. "Stay safe." She called out to them all, but they knew she was talking to Gibbs. He said nothing, just turned to his team and led them over to the map. She walked away from the crowd and back up the stairs to her office. As she entered her waiting area, she glanced uneasily at the man sitting there. He looked worse, his skin was much paler. He coughed again and she winced.

"I'm ready to see you now, if you'll follow me." She said gently, and he looked up and then nodded. "You should see a doctor for that cough." She added amiably and he cleared his throat.

"I think I will if this keeps up." He answered good-naturedly. He followed her into her office and shut the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I only own the story and any original characters that I introduce therein.

A.N.: Special thanks to ladybugsmomma for being the only person to review the last chapter. I guess its just me and you, ;) lol. Thank you to everyone else for reading this, i know its an unusual crossover and I thank you for keeping an open mind.

* * *

><p>Ziva David carefully looked over the antivirus that Abby had just handed to her. It was bright green, which was an odd colour, and instead of a normal syringe it was in a wide, clear glass container. For something so large she would have expected there to be a lot of this antivirus contained within, but there was only a small amount in some kind of spiral straw. What a waste of space.<p>

"Most inoculations are colourless, are they not?" She asked Abby, dubiously giving the green stuff another look over.

"Yeah, but that's usually by design. Patients tend to freak out if they see a syringe full of bright pink liquid coming towards them." She explained, giggling at the mental image she had just created. "I guess Umbrella just wanted it out ASAP, so they didn't bother getting rid of the green." Ziva smiled at Abby's comment and looked behind her at the bullpen where Gibbs and the Director were talking, her smile slipping. Jenny was not herself. From a distance she appeared to be unchanged from earlier in the year, but up close the difference was more obvious.

She had lost weight, how much Ziva couldn't tell as she used her clothes well to disguise it. She could see that Jenny was wearing layers today; a suit jacket, waist coat, blouse and what looked like a white tank top underneath that. The only explanation for the weight loss that Ziva could think of was that her binge drinking had increased and she had consequently lost her appetite, but as far as she could tell Jenny had barely touched a drop in a few months.

She was worried about her. Before her vendetta against the Frenchman came to light, she and Jenny had been close. Back when they were partners they would confide in each other, explain what was going on if something was wrong, but since she became Director she was distant, even more so after La Grenouille went off radar. They hadn't been on the best of terms since La Grenouille and to be honest it had undoubtedly had a long-lasting negative effect on those involved.

Team Gibbs had been cold to her once they found out about the undercover operation she had sent Tony on, so she had withdrawn. Ziva had felt the betrayal of her trust just as keenly as everyone else on the team and had held Jenny responsible. Tony had his reasons for being unfriendly; he had nearly been killed and he had fallen for the woman he was assigned to, but he was partly at fault too. After all, he could have expressed concerns to Jenny over his growing feelings for Jeanne, he could have quit the mission, but he hadn't. That was in the past now though. Ziva sighed; she wanted her friend back.

"Ziva, you're staring at them." Tony said indicating Jenny and Gibbs with a wave of his hand. "Very unsubtly. Even McGee saw you." He added, stage-whispering conspiratorially, as the probie of the team turned to them, holding out a bum bag (fanny pack?). Ziva accepted it from him and she carefully placed the antivirus in it, accepting the rest of their share from Abby and filling the bag. She then passed the bag back to Tim.

"Thank you, McGee." Ziva said and he nodded slightly in acknowledgement. Then she turned her attention to Tony. "I was not staring, I was observing." She corrected him and he scoffed but let it go. It wasn't really surprising; he had probably seen what she saw but was reluctant to get involved in another of Jenny's messes.

"Did you guys see him pretending to work?" Tony sniggered, changing the subject slightly to favour Gibbs.

"Yeah, I think he does it on purpose because he knows she can't resist her curiosity when it comes to our cases." McGee said, gesturing at Gibbs, shaking his head at his superiors' behaviour.

"Women want to control everything, probie. She doesn't need an excuse." Tony said frostily making Ziva frown. That was unusually hostile even for Tony; had Jeanne meant so much to him that she affected him even now? She didn't like the way that thought made her feel.

"In this case that would make Gibbs the woman as he wants to take control of his team away from Jenny. I am sure he would be interested to hear that you think that, Tony." She shot back, a little more defensively then she had intended and was gratified to see the surprise in his expression at her outburst.

"Cute, Ziva." He grumbled, defeated and she laughed, nudging him gently with her shoulder, trying to ease the tension between them. He grinned and then sighed, but once again changed the subject, deflecting attention from his discontent. "Why do we need someone from legal to come with us?" he asked, watching the nervous desk Agents milling around by the map, waiting for their assigned team to collect them.

"An objective view point, I think. We will want to cure everyone, but they will be in charge of the antivirus and will only give it to those that have the best chance of surviving." Ziva hypothesised. It was a very military outlook but in this case, when they had so little of it in the first place, it would hopefully help to save more and limit wastage. Ziva just hoped that the Agents from legal could at least handle themselves in a fire fight so they wouldn't be babysitting someone.

"I thought we were going to get Agent Lee again, but she's going with Foster's team." Tim informed them, and they waved hesitantly at the aforementioned Asian woman as she noticed them watching her from across the squad room. She smiled brightly to them and waved back.

"I liked Agent Lee." Tony said wistfully and McGee scoffed.

"She was your perfect probie for a while back there, Tony, of course you liked her. She did everything you told her to do." McGee said sardonically.

"Unlike someone in know." Tony said meaningfully and McGee smiled.

"I'm not a probie. Not anymore." He said significantly, probably praying that one day Tony would get it.

"You'll always be the probie, McNovice." Tony said, clapping him on the back. Tim smiled sarcastically, his hopes dashed. "So who _do_ we get?"

"Special Agent Daniel Myers." McGee replied shrugging.

"Who?" Ziva asked, slightly put out that it wasn't someone they knew already. She scanned the crowd and picked out the likely faces. Things were not looking good for them. There were only a few legal guys left and they were all... what was the word... puny?

"Not sure, but apparently he's quite new to the department." McGee reported.

"Which will be why Jenny gave him to us. So we can protect him." Ziva muttered, sighing,

"Saddled with the newbie." Tony replied, huffing. "That's what we get for being the best."

"Jethro." Jenny's voice called, and they all turned to look at her, concerned that Gibbs was already in trouble. She smiled, seemingly amused by how much attention she had attracted with the one word. "Stay safe." She called to everyone watching her, and Ziva fought to smother a smile. Jenny could be so obvious sometimes, even Gibbs got that message loud and clear. Gibbs walked up to them and they followed him to the map. He stopped in front of it and Tony sprang into action.

"We're in Wolfhurst boss, but we'll all be getting updates from the 'force in Bridgeport before we go in and split up." DiNozzo informed him and Ziva quickly pointed to Tim.

"I collected our quota of antivirus and gave it to McGee." She told him and Gibbs expectantly turned to Tim.

"Our legal guy is Daniel Myers who... is probably the guy walking towards us right now." He trailed off at the end as the young man got closer. He had slicked back brown hair and a cheesy smile; he didn't just look like a lawyer, he _oozed_ lawyer. Once he got close enough he held out his hand to Gibbs.

"Special Agent Gibbs, I'm Daniel Myers, but you can call me Danny." He said. Gibbs stared at his hand for a moment and the legal guy took the hint and dropped it back to his side, his feathers slightly ruffled.

"How about 'Agent Myers'." Gibbs stated and Ziva smirked. There was no way he was going to call this guy by his given name the moment he met him.

"That's fine too. Can I have the antivirus please?" he asked, now ignoring Gibbs, holding out his hand expectantly. McGee handed it over and Myers fastened the bag around his waist. "Thank you. Now I've been put in charge of this; it is my job to determine who needs it, not yours. You just handle the waving of guns, I'll deal with saving lives, alright?" he said smarmily, meeting the eyes of the incredulous and insulted team he had just joined. Ziva growled under her breath and Tony surreptitiously grabbed her hand to stop its progress towards her knife. "Well now we're equipped and aware of our roles, I think we should get going. Lives are at stake, after all." He had _no idea_ how right he was as Ziva felt Tim pin her other hand, stopping her fingers from closing around her backup. She once again growled under her breath, just loud enough for her teammates to hear and Gibbs attempted to smother his grin.

"Remember, he needs us out there more than we need him." Gibbs muttered to them and wicked smiles appeared on the Agents faces as they silently followed Gibbs across to the elevator. The bullpen had already begun to empty, so they had to wait in line to catch the elevator, too lazy to take the stairs. Myers opened the bag around his waist and began counting the vials inside, making it very obvious that he was doing so. Ziva's eyes narrowed and she contemplated how many ways she could kill him while her arms were pinned to her sides; _hmmm... 17_.

Suddenly a surprised scream cut through the air and all eyes turned to look, stunned, up at the Directors office. Ziva's breath caught; Jenny! The field Agents currently remaining in the squad room all moved as one, dashing towards the stairs. Ziva easily took the lead as she lithely squeezed though the throng and twisted around the bottom of the stairs, running up them two at a time. When she was halfway along the catwalk a single gunshot rang out, then all fell silent. Ziva's heart sped and her jaw locked as determination to be in that office in the next _second_ overtook her.

The Agents ran headlong for the door, drawing their weapons as they did so and they all passed through practically noiselessly, their training kicking in. Cynthia's office was empty and the Director's door was ajar. Ziva took a deep breath and launched herself at the offending barrier, pointing her weapon in front of her, lowering it slightly in shock at what she saw.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I only own the story.

A.N.: Thank you to ladybugsmomma and Slytherin Studios for reviewing, I hope this is worth the wait.

* * *

><p>"Please, take a seat." Jenny offered pleasantly as she sat behind her desk and gestured to the chair opposite her. The man nodded and thanked her, wiping his brow on his sleeve as he sat. He let out a deep breath and looked around her office appreciatively, taking in the professional atmosphere. There weren't many personal touches to the Director's office, she was a driven career woman; always had been. The few pictures that did adorn her desk were old ones of her long dead parents. Jenny was used to people 'settling in' before speaking, so she patiently waited for him to begin.<p>

"Thank you for seeing me, Director." he said respectfully once he had returned his attention to her. Jenny inclined her head in acknowledgement.

"If one of my Agents has mistreated you in any way it's my job to hear about it and see that action is taken, where applicable." She explained, knowing that it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference to Gibbs if this complaint was followed-up on. He got results; his methods didn't matter because he wasn't a callous or cruel man. He was rude though and that is what the majority of complaints were about. "May I ask your name?" she added, a little tired of labelling him 'the man'.

"Oh, pardon me. It's Terry Parks, and well... one has; _Special_ Agent Gibbs." He said angrily and Jenny mentally prepared herself for the onslaught. "My baby sister has just passed away in a _horrible_ accident. I was with my mother, who is in mourning, and a group of friends making arrangements for her... and then _he_ called." He stopped momentarily, the anger throwing him into a coughing fit. Jenny winced and leaned forward, subtly moving a packet of tissues closer to him. He thanked her in a pause between fits and then continued once he had calmed down.

"He said that her death was 'being treated as suspicious' and he would have to interview me –me!- as a suspect. My mother could hear every word he said! She was outraged that he would accuse me like that, without even talking to me first, and I have to admit that I am too!" Jenny typed up the complaint, nodding every now and then so he would continue and properly feel his complaint was being listened to.

"When he actually did interview me he made it damn clear that he was trying to pin her _accidental_ death on me as murder! I loved my baby sister, I've looked out for her since she was little, I would never hurt her!" he insisted to her. Jenny nodded sympathetically, feeling anything but. If Gibbs was resolute that this man killed his sister then it was almost certainly true. Unless the guy was just overreacting to the stress interrogation puts people through and embellishing Gibbs' interest in him. He wouldn't be the first.

Jenny wasn't too concerned about Mr Parks, but his mention of his mothers' outrage did concern her. She _would_ have a perfectly valid reason to complain. Gibbs shouldn't have accused him over the phone like that, no matter how justified he felt due to evidence. If she really did hear him saying the things that Mr Parks was claiming then she would be within her rights to accuse Gibbs of causing unnecessary emotional distress. Jenny internally groaned; she'd have to talk to Jethro about this and find out exactly what words had been exchanged between the two men. She might make Gibbs listen to the write up she would do about it, just so he would know how close he could have, and still may, come to disciplinary action.

"It's just... unthinkable!... and I... I can't breathe..." he ground out between coughs, swaying in his seat slightly as his face lost what little colour it had left. Jenny jumped up and rounded the desk, stopping next to him and rubbing his upper back in an effort to help him relax his airway. Seeing that it wasn't doing much good she gripped him under his arms and pulled insistently, making him stand.

"Ok, let's get you to the couch and I'll get Dr Mallard up here to look you over. Come on." She insisted firmly, allowing him to put most of his weight on her as she helped him stagger to the couch. He sat heavily and his coughs turned into gasps. Jenny heaped a few cushions at one end of the couch and then helped him to recline so they were under his head. His eyes sought hers for a moment, the fear of suffocating clear to her and she tried hard to ensure her expression showed none of the anxiousness that she felt in an effort to calm him.

"Don't... leave-" he gasped fearfully, clutching at Jenny's jacket. She untangled herself from his fingers and stepped back.

"I'm just going to ask my assistant to fetch the doctor, and then I'll be right back. There's nothing to worry about; you'll be fine." She soothed, turning on her heel and stalking towards her desk phone. She pressed a button and spoke.

"Cynthia, have Doctor Mallard report to my office immediately; there's a medical emergency." She said quickly but clearly so Cynthia wouldn't misunderstand.

"_Right away, Director_." Cynthia obliged. The coughing behind Jenny ceased abruptly and she spun around, shocked and fearful that he had died, but Terry's eyes flicked open and he sat up, so she released her held breathe in relief and turned back to the phone.

"It's not urgent now Cynthia, but don't cancel the order. Send him in when he gets here." She ordered, releasing the button and turning back to Mr Parks. He had struggled to his feet and looked at her expectantly. "The doctor is on his way." She assured him, noting that he still looked awfully pale. "Shall we continue?" she asked, gesturing to the chair he had occupied previously. He made a strange grunting noise and then started walking... no, _shambling_ towards her.

Jenny eyed him dubiously, had he actually caused himself some damage from the force of the coughing? She hadn't noticed him moving like that before... she internally shrugged and rounded her desk so she was back on her customary side, keeping her eye on his progress in case he should have another fit. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end when she noticed he was staring at her; properly staring. His gaze hadn't so much as wavered since she had spoken to Cynthia, and he hadn't yet blinked. Creepy.

She narrowed her eyes and cleared her throat, resolving to get him out of her office as soon as humanly possible. She didn't sit and wouldn't until he had. It was only polite, but also she felt strangely on edge. Mr Parks continued his ambling journey towards her, not saying a word, not even a 'thank you' in passing. Finally he reached her desk... and walked into it.

"Is everything alr-?" she began but cut off and jumped backwards, backing away into the window as he let out a long groan and began to climb over it, moving much faster now as four limbs propelled him. He reached out towards her, sending her computer monitor and desk phone crashing to the ground. Jenny looked on in shock, her mind telling her that he wouldn't actually attack her; no one was stupid enough to do something like that in an _armed_ agency. Right? She checked for her side arm, but realised that she wasn't wearing it. She wasn't allowed to inside the building. It was still in her desk drawer, which she was cut off from by the man who was currently clambering off of it, his eyes still fixed on her.

She realised she was about to be boxed in so she darted around her desk, attempting to get to the door before he got too close but something snagged on her jacket. She reflexively turned to see what she was caught on and jerked away in horror. He'd reached out and grabbed her pocket. She lost her balance and fell to the ground and the downward force dragged him the rest of the way off the desk as well, the sound of tearing fabric loud in the otherwise quiet room. He was completely unfazed by the fall and crawled swiftly towards her.

Jenny's mind was a chaotic jumble of horror stricken thoughts with the most frequently considered notion being; 'this can't be happening'. His eyes were white, milky white. She'd only seen corpses with that effect and even then they had been dead for a long time. There was no rational explanation for what she was seeing, and if there was she couldn't think of it right now. She shuffled backwards, no longer caring where she was headed as long as it was away from him. He followed her, small inhuman moans and groans escaping him as he got closer and closer. Her back hit the conference table and her breath caught in her throat.

His hand grabbed her foot; she viciously used her other foot to stab at him with the heel of her shoe in an effort to break free. He was unfazed and just grabbed her other ankle, using her flailing to drag himself closer. Jenny reached out for something, anything, to help her and her hand closed around a chair. She yanked it out of place and toppled it, directing its fall at Mr Parks. He was again unfazed but she managed to get her legs free.

She attempted to stand, intending to use the conference table as a shield but his hand grabbed her and pulled her back down. Finally a scream ripped its way out of Jenny's throat as he dragged her to the floor and pinned her beneath his weight. He was so strong, so heavy, and thanks to her illness she was weak. He swiftly lowered his head towards her, his mouth open and she put all of her strength into stopping him. It wasn't enough.

She felt the pressure of the bite on her shoulder as a shot rang out and his body jerked, rolling limply away from her. Jenny looked up blankly at her rescuer, her mind completely in shock. Cynthia stood like a statue behind Jenny's desk, tears streaming silently down her face and her hands clasping Jenny's sidearm. Jenny stared. No one breathed.

Suddenly the door burst open and Agents spilled into the room with their weapons drawn, Ziva leading them. Their eyes widened in shock as one by one they all took in the scene before them. Jenny watched as Jethro moved towards Cynthia, gently retrieving the gun from her and flicking the safety on. Ziva caught Jenny's eye and then moved towards her, concern etched on her features. Jenny released her breath.

All of a sudden Mr Parks reared up with a growl, reaching out to grab Jenny's leg. Another shot rang out and Ziva's bullet tore its way through Mr Parks' head, dropping him once more. Ziva moved forward to secure the corpse and Jenny found herself being dragged to one side by Jethro, who brought her to her feet once they were at a safe distance.

Jenny looked on impassively at the scene around her, noting that Jethro tugged at the collar of her shirt. He said something which made someone else relieved: Ducky. Oh, of course, she had called him up, hadn't she? She glanced at her shoulder and noted that it wasn't bleeding; the teeth hadn't gotten through her layers. Lucky for her that she was wearing a jacket with shoulder pads. Ducky gently grasped her face in his hands and spoke softly to her. She knew she should probably listen to him, but she couldn't seem to make herself focus. Wait... he was telling her to slow down. Slow down what? Oh... her breathing.

Jenny blacked out.

* * *

><p>Next up will be the next chapter of An Enduring Friendship.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, they belong to the people who own NCIS and Resident Evil, whose names escape me at the moment...

A.N.: Thank you to ladybugsmomma, Slytherin Studios and TheLazyOtakuWithTooMuchTime for reviewing!

* * *

><p>Ziva David sighed softly as she cast her eye around Jenny's office, her brow creased with anxiety. Mr Parks, the main suspect in their latest case, had gotten Jenny alone here in her office, under the guise of making a complaint against Gibbs, and attacked her. Ziva couldn't understand why he had done it. It wasn't as if killing the Director of NCIS would suddenly cross him out on the suspect list of his sisters' murder. Everyone involved in his case had known he was going to see Jenny, how did he think he could get away with it? It didn't make sense.<p>

Since Jenny had passed out as soon as the ordeal was over, her secretary Cynthia had explained everything that she had heard and seen about the encounter between Jenny and Parks. What she had said had stunned them all, and it made Ziva ask herself some hard to believe questions.

Jenny had sent for Ducky because of a medical emergency, which Cynthia had obviously assumed was concerning Mr Parks; he'd had a bad cough after all. Jenny had then said the emergency was over, but she still wanted to see Ducky. Not even a minute later Cynthia heard crashing sounds from Jenny's office. She had gone to check on the Director and found her being attacked by Parks. Shocked, Cynthia had gone for Jenny's gun. She hadn't had the nerve to shoot the man until he had started to bite her.

Ziva shook her head; it was a wonder Cynthia hadn't missed and hit Jenny by accident; she'd had no weapons training at all, but thankfully the bullet had hit his shoulder and the impact had moved him clear of Jenny. They had all seen what had happened after that.

Ziva frowned uneasily. He hadn't moved, hadn't even made a sound before he had tried to attack her again, and bullet wounds _hurt_. It was eerie, which put her on edge about the situation, but it wasn't that which made her skin prickle with apprehension. The office was a mess; everything that had been on her desk had been strewn across the floor, there was a chair lying in the middle of the room and a small puddle of blood and brain matter was staining the carpet. A small puddle.

It was that which was bothering her most about what she was seeing. Parks had been shot twice, with at least ten seconds before the fatal wound to the head had been served. The result should have been more extensive blood loss than what was currently drying into the carpet. It was almost as if it had simply leaked out instead of being pumped out... strange.

Unlike most of the rest of NCIS, and indeed the world, Ziva had not simply dismissed the Racoon City video as a hoax. She had killed too many people to not see that the bullet wounds were real and not a clever camera trick. She had seen too many corpses to ignore the redness of the fingers and legs, where the blood had gathered after death. As a Mossad officer who had been trained to keep an open mind to everything, even the supernatural; the tape had sent chills down her spine. Just like this situation did now. She knew the others wouldn't believe it, not without evidence, but she strongly suspected Parks had become a member of the walking dead.

Then he had tried to bite Jenny. He had failed thanks to Cynthia's quick actions, but he easily could have succeeded; dead weight was heavy after all, and Jenny was so thin nowadays. Also, the office wasn't really that large, it was by good fortune that she had managed to evade him as long as she had, not opportunity. It was mere chance that Cynthia had decided to check on Jenny when she had. It had been pure luck that he had died while Jenny was far enough away from him to not become an immediate victim.

Ziva took a deep breath and released it slowly, calming herself. It wouldn't do any good to dwell on what might have been; she should focus instead on what did happen and how to avoid it in the future. With that thought in mind she resolutely walked out of the messy office, crossed the catwalk and descended the stairs, heading for the break room where Abby was keeping watch over Jenny.

A minute or two later she entered the break room, a smile appearing on her lips as she saw Jenny being enveloped in an energetic Abby hug, amidst chuckling protests. Jenny was still half reclined on the couch which Ziva realised meant she had just awoken. She decided to announce her presence instead of sneaking up on them.

"I am glad you are awake, Jenny, and that you are... unharmed." She added, recalling that Gibbs and Ducky had said that Parks had not been able to bite through Jenny's layers of clothing. Abby reluctantly released the red headed Director, who looked around sharply to where Ziva was standing; her surprise quickly giving way to a warm smile.

"Thank you Ziva," She said, running one hand through her dishevelled hair, her other distractedly reaching up to touch the unbroken skin of her shoulder. "It was very close, though." Jenny admitted. Ziva nodded in agreement and cast her eyes over her friend, alarmed to notice that she looked... fragile. Her suit jacket, which had contributed greatly to the illusion of good health that she had been displaying, was neatly folded over the back of the couch allowing her true figure to be better seen. She was far from skeletal, but she was thinner than was healthy. She wouldn't talk about it in front of Abby though, who had apparently claimed Jenny as a mother figure. She needed to get her alone. Ziva glanced at Abby, an idea springing to mind.

"Abby, have you had chance to run tests on this odd virus, yet?" Ziva asked suddenly, hoping that the illness had sparked her curiosity. Abby let out a sigh and pouted.

"No. Gibbs won't let me go out and collect samples and I'm not entirely sure I could synthesize the antivirus so I haven't been able to check that out either." She admitted, shrugging.

"I have reason to believe that Mr Parks was infected with this virus." Ziva revealed, watching with satisfaction as Abby's eyes lit up. "Ducky will undoubtedly be looking over the body, so you will not have long to wait until you receive your first sample... or you could not wait at all." Ziva smiled and pointed to Jenny's discarded jacket. "Ducky did say it was transmitted through saliva, yes?" Abby glanced sharply at the jacket and then at Ziva and then broke out into a high pitched squeal of giddiness.

"I will unravel the mysteries of this thing, just you wait!" Abby announced, snatching up the jacket and making a beeline for the door.

"Take precautions, Abby!" Jenny called after her retreating form, shaking her head fondly. She glanced at Ziva, sat up fully and sighed, then patted the spot beside her. "I can see you're itching to speak. You may as well say it." She said, resigned to the inevitable twenty questions. Ziva sat and then glanced around to make sure they were alone before speaking.

"What happened, Jenny?" she asked gently. Jenny looked at her for a moment before giving her a slightly confused half smile.

"I don't know. He was just complaining about Gibbs and worked himself up. Then he said he couldn't breathe. He started choking so I got him to the couch and called for Ducky and then, he just... stopped." She shrugged. "I figured he was better so cancelled the emergency and asked if he wanted to continue the complaint. He didn't speak. He just... came at me."

"He did not threaten you?" Ziva's eyes narrowed slightly, her previous thought of what happened to him becoming a stronger suspicion.

"No. It was weird. He came at me in a straight line. He walked into my desk and then climbed over it to get at me, he didn't go around it. He didn't seem bothered by the noise he was making, either." Jenny admitted, obviously disturbed by what she was recounting.

"You did not leave, though." Ziva stated questioningly. _What had she been thinking?_

"I tried, he caught hold of my jacket when I tried to get past him, dragged us both to the floor. He didn't try to get up though, which would have given him the advantage." She paused and looked Ziva in the eye, her own showing her confusion. "He _crawled_ after me." Ziva felt a chill at her words, but didn't interrupt. "He wasn't fast, but for some reason I was scared out of my mind. I've been in situations like that before and handled it much better than I did just now." Jenny grumbled, angry with herself for being so frightened, so weak and probably for fainting.

"What was scaring you?" Ziva prompted, and Jenny's brow furrowed in concentration as she considered the question.

"He hadn't blinked." She said finally. "From standing up off the couch to getting shot he didn't blink once, not even when I kicked him in the face with the heel of my shoe. He just grabbed my ankles and dragged himself closer. His eyes were... white. Almost as if he was..." Jenny trailed off and shook her head, scoffing at herself for the turn of her thoughts. "He had cataracts, I just didn't notice them until right then, I guess." Jenny shivered and Ziva had to work at carefully keeping her face neutral against her own unease.

"Go on." Ziva urged lightly. Jenny shrugged again and waved a hand dismissively.

"I toppled the chair on him, he shrugged it off. I tried to stand, he dragged me down and then he bit me." She reached up again to touch her shoulder and moved the collar of her shirt apart, revealing a forming bruise. "I could feel his teeth... then Cynthia shot him. You know the rest." She concluded, dropping her hands to her lap.

"Did he bite you elsewhere?" Ziva prodded gently. "Or scratch you?"

"I would have told you if he had, Ziva." Jenny replied seriously, shaking her head.

_I will hold you to that, my friend_, Ziva thought. Jenny kicked off her shoes and lifted the bottom of her trousers slightly, rolling her ankles experimentally.

"He had quite a grip though." She groused, glaring at the purpling bruises around her slight ankles. Ziva winced sympathetically at the angry discoloration, but was relieved to see her skin was again, unbroken. She glanced up at Jenny's face and then the door, knowing that this was her chance to ask the question that most concerned her.

"Jenny, are you well?" she asked softly. Jenny froze, only for a moment, before putting on her best fake smile.

"Of course, Ziva. Why do you ask?" she sounded genuinely confused, but Ziva easily saw through the charade.

"You are thinner. Noticeably so without your jacket." she pointed out, her eyes fixed on Jenny's.

"I haven't been hungry lately." She replied, and Ziva inwardly smiled. She was telling a truth to bear out her lie. _Why are you not hungry?_ She wondered, but she knew Jenny would just evade her question if it was that direct.

"You have been trying to hide it, why?" she asked, with just the right amount of blind concern. The ghost of a smile appeared at the corner of Jenny's lips; they weren't fooling one another.

"I didn't want you to worry. It's nothing. Really." She insisted, her gaze conveying what she wouldn't say out loud. _Drop it_. Ziva knew that Jenny was lying to her; she also knew that Jenny could see that she knew, yet she still clung to the lie. Ziva frowned briefly, knowing that it must be very personal if she didn't want to discuss it, but that also meant it was in all probability very bad.

"You are probably right." She eventually said, nodding in agreement as Jenny's tense posture relaxed. "I will pick up a sandwich for you later." She responded her voice firm and her own message clear. _I will let the matter go, for now_.

"I may not eat it." Jenny replied significantly, avoiding Ziva's eyes by leaning over to put her shoes back on. Ziva smiled fondly and stood from the couch, watching as Jenny did the same.

"I will take the risk." She said and gestured the door, indicating that Jenny should precede her through it and into the squad room. She did so without further comment.

Gibbs, DiNozzo and McGee looked up as they entered, but Ziva avoided eye contact with everyone. They were just worried about Jenny. _As well they should be_, she thought with a painful twinge in her chest. She noticed Gibbs stand up from his desk and she quickly sat behind her own, pretending to do work. She glanced up and watched as Gibbs moved into Jenny's personal space while she spoke to him.

"Has Ducky found anything on Terry Parks, yet?" Jenny asked him curiously, folding her arms and raising her eyebrows expectantly.

"Not yet." Gibbs replied shortly, taking in everything that Ziva herself had seen, and probably coming to the same conclusion. Jenny looked down at her clothes self-consciously.

"Abby took my jacket for testing; she'll probably be busy for a while." She informed him. Gibbs nodded and his eyes suddenly flicked over to Ziva. She started and immediately looked guiltily away, cursing her action even as she did it. If that wasn't a sure sign that she knew that something was wrong; she didn't know what was. Suddenly, McGee jumped up from his desk and called loudly for Gibbs' attention, drawing it away from the women and allowing Ziva and Jenny to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Boss! You've got to see this."

"Put it up, McGee." Gibbs replied, turning away from Jenny and towards the large plasma screen between Tim and Tony's desks. Tim's fingers flew swiftly over his keyboard and the screen flared to life, showing the image of a young red haired girl. Ziva took a moment to scrutinize her. Her eyes were sad; her posture showed she was emotionally weighed down, but she also held herself with a strength that showed she was hopeful.

"It's a video file. It was sent to every Agent in the building from somewhere in Newark, Ohio." He paused to tap a few keys. "I can easily get a fix on the location, if needed." He added, his fingers poised to carry out Gibbs' command.

"Let's see what it is first." Gibbs replied, giving the go-ahead to play the video.

"_My name is Angela Ashford. I know that most if not all of you will probably recognise some of what I am about to show you but please hear me out. These murders that are happening in Belmont county; they aren't normal murders._" She looked off of camera for a moment, as if she was thinking carefully about how to phrase what she wanted to say. "_They are caused by the same thing that killed people in Racoon city._" She looked down for a moment and then back at the camera, continuing in a quiet voice. "_I've made recordings from St. Clairesville and paralleled them against the original recording from Racoon city so that you can see I'm not lying._"

The image of the young girl flashed off, replaced with footage taken from a wall mounted security camera. Several people were awkwardly walking up a street. Some were clearly grievously wounded, but they didn't seem to be in pain, though they were at quite a distance from the camera. The scene switched to one that was recognisable as part of the hoax tape. People were ambling around, obviously wounded but not in pain...

The scene switched again, this time it showed two groups of people. Only one group had weapons and they were moving quickly away from the other group, shooting occasionally. The other group only stopped following them when they were shot in the head, otherwise they kept moving; apparently unaware they were wounded.

The scene changed to another one recognisable as from the hoax tape. This time the view was as if they were part of the group running away, clearly showing the open wounds and vacant expressions of the group chasing them. One was shot in the head and dropped dead instantly, another was shot in the leg, but gave no indication that he even felt the bullet rip through him. He crawled forwards, no pause in his movements. Ziva recalled what Jenny had said about Parks and chanced a glance at the Director, but her back was to her.

She turned back to the screen in time for another scene change, and another. More views of people being chased, each drilling home to the observers that only a shot to the head seemed to stop them. Eventually the only way they could identify which scenes were from the hoax tape was from the vantage point they were recorded from; they were that similar.

Finally the young girl appeared again and spoke. "_Its Umbrella's fault, they released this virus; I know because my daddy worked for them._" A few tears spilled down her cheeks and she hastily wiped them away. "_Now he's dead._" Her voice broke and she had to stop talking for a moment. "_I know that most of you still won't believe me, but for the few that do I hope you can make them listen. The virus has to be stopped, or it'll kill everyone._"

The video stopped. The silence in the squad room was oppressive as each person tried to explain away what they had seen. Ziva had already come to the conclusion that the tape was real, so she had no soul searching to do. Instead she thought about the girl's accusations towards the umbrella corporation.

Could they have really let this virus loose? Why? If it was as dangerous as it seemed then letting it get out into the general population would be the last thing they should do. Was that why they had provided the antivirus? Was this some sort of sick field test? No, surely it was an accident. They were trying to clean up the mess before things got out of hand without admitting to its creation. Suddenly Gibbs moved away from the centre of the bullpen, walking away to the elevator.

"Boss?" Tony called after him, wondering like everyone else where he was off to.

"Going to see Ducky." He threw back over his shoulder. It took about a second for everyone to follow him.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A.N.: Thank you to Slytherin Studios, ladybugsmomma, MindFullofStories, jag389, ripper34, Arekanderu, Pineapple. Fritter and both Guests' for reviewing! You guys keep this story alive!

* * *

><p>Alice winced and rubbed her temples, attempting to massage away the throbbing that was steadily growing behind her eyes. The headaches had been a constant companion ever since she had been rescued from the Detroit Umbrella facility by Jill, Carlos and LJ. As strange as it sounded, she was getting used to them. They were painful, obviously, but once they reached their worst they dissipated and she could look forward to a few hours of normalcy before the next one began. Like clockwork.<p>

She closed her eyes tightly and evened her breathing, attempting to lower her blood pressure in the hopes of easing the pounding beneath her skull; she knew it wouldn't work but it didn't hurt to try. At best, all it did was help to stem the fear that uncoiled in her belly every time the pain began to reach its peak.

She had at first simply been grateful that the Umbrella scientists had bothered to nurse her back to health. Her loss of memory had obviously been a part of their plan and she had thwarted whatever that plan had been and escaped. The end. Or so she had thought.

The headaches, which she had assumed were caused by whatever Dr. Isaacs had done to her to cause her memory loss, had continued to occur long after her escape. She knew from all of the data and conversations in the Detroit facility that she was in perfect health so it seemed that they had done something more to her, changed her somehow. That thought scared her to death. She had already been changed, been bonded with the T-virus, she didn't want to feel any less human.

She had simply told the others that she was experiencing occasional migraines, and they had at first accepted her explanation without comment. They had been very accommodating whenever it happened, they would be as quiet as they could and didn't crowd her. It had helped to ease the pain some, but then they had told her that they were worried, that she had begun exhibiting 'odd behaviour'. She knew what they were talking about, but she couldn't do anything about it. She shuddered, just thinking of it chilled her to the bone.

The headache worsened and she clenched her fists. It was going to happen very soon. The pounding got worse with each passing second, the pain mounting until she thought the blood vessels in her head would burst, and then... such astonishing clarity.

All of her senses had come alive, hyper stimulated to the extreme. She could suddenly smell car fumes from outside through the tiny gap in the closed window, the remnants of cigarette smoke on her companions breath and clothes. She could taste the coffee she had drunk several hours earlier as if she had just taken a sip. She could feel the texture of the clothes she was wearing, the fine cotton shirt seeming as course as sisal rope against her skin and the electricity from the TV tingling in the air. She could hear Jill, Carlos and LJ's heartbeats, even their blinking, and Angie tapping keys on her laptop in the next room as if she was sat next to her. The TV, which was as low as its sound would go while still allowing LJ to hear the news, blared out at her, grating on her nerves.

Her mind was almost overloaded trying to keep track of the culmination of all these new, strong sensations, and she couldn't physically move. She couldn't inhale, she couldn't open her eyes, she was perfectly still in every way. The most disturbing thing was that sometimes in this state her body moved on its own; she couldn't stop it or influence it in anyway. It never lasted more than a few minutes, then everything would simply start again, as if it had never stopped. Her senses would snap back to normal levels, and she would regain control of herself, her alarmed companions ready to question her on the latest creepy thing she had done.

This time turned out to be similar. Her lungs froze mid breath, her body became rigid and her eyes popped open against her will, the sharp details of the room standing out. When this had first happened she had assumed that her periphery had sharpened, but she had come to realise that she had in fact had her field of focus widened. Her head slowly turned from side to side, looking around the room on its own. She tried to resist, to keep her head still, but it was like her head was no longer hers; like she wasn't in her body anymore, just occupying a small space as an observer. She thrashed and screamed in her head, gritted her teeth and put all of her concentration and will into taking a breath, but her efforts never made a difference.

Carlos and Jill watched her warily, and as the minutes ticked by she wished for the hundredth time that she could regain control, but it was useless. She called to them, but her mouth never moved, her words and actions trapped in her mind with no means of communicating. They exchanged glances and sat forward in their seats, on alert for any signs of danger from her. Despite the very real terror she felt at being helpless _in her own body_, she would have smiled if she was capable of it; they were always looking out for the group. She heard Angela whimper softly in the next room.

Her gasp surprised even her, as her lungs drew in as much air as they could after being frozen for so long, and Carlos was out of his seat and kneeling in front of her in a flash, concern radiating from his eyes. Her body shook from the terror, and she had to make the conscious effort to not express her relief at being back in control. They didn't need to know about it, she wouldn't worry them over her failing body.

The headache was completely gone, but it would be back in a few hours, like clockwork.

* * *

><p>Angela squeezed her eyes shut and dug her clenched fists against her ears, hoping to drown out the petrified voice shouting, screaming, in her mind. She curled up on the bed, the laptop forgotten, and sobbed pathetically. She knew to whom the voice belonged; Alice, but Alice was in the next room with the others perfectly fine, so why was she hearing this? Every scream haunted her, every noise the voice made reverberated around inside Angela's head. She thought she must be going mad.<p>

It only ever lasted for a few minutes, then the voice would disappear, only to come back some hours later. Every time it was over she managed to convince herself it hadn't happened, that she was merely remembering a nightmare, but it came back to haunt her every few hours during the day as she was forced to bear witness to the imaginary turmoil. Angela gritted her teeth and breathed steadily through her nose, attempting to ignore the panicking woman in her mind.

Moments later the shouting directives to breathe abruptly cut off, the pressure releasing in her head and she gasped gratefully in the silence. Her eyes drifted closed for a while as she relaxed and her breathing returned to normal.

Her laptop beeped unexpectedly, and Angela's eyes shot open as she sat up and reached for it. She hoped she hadn't pressed something by accident. Her hand closed around the base of the laptop and turned it so she could see the screen and her breath caught in her throat. Windows were popping up, lines of code scrolling up them. Her eyes widened fearfully; she was being hacked!

"Jill! Alice!" She called quickly, climbing off of the bed and backing away from the laptop. Her daddy had taught her how to hack, true, but not how to stop someone hacking her! Her firewall and antivirus programs were top of the line, so she knew this wasn't some runty kid trolling her, this was a serious breach.

The door slammed open, Jill and Alice appearing, weapons drawn, searching for the threat. Angela backed up against the wall and pointed at the laptop. The two women exchanged confused and slightly relieved glances, then Jill holstered her weapon and walked towards Angela, while Alice went to check out what had her so scared.

"Damnit, she's being hacked." Alice exclaimed, and she began typing ferociously on the keyboard. She was fast, but whoever was on the other end was obviously simply better. She growled and cursed as they barrelled past everything she tried to stop or slow them down; they must really know their stuff.

"Angie? What were you doing when this happened?" Jill asked her gently and Angela gasped. The video!

"I... " she hesitantly glanced up at Jill's face. "I heard you talking... about the new outbreak." Jill's expression settled into a disappointed frown and Angela looked away.

"I'm sorry, Angie, you weren't supposed to hear that." Jill said gently, crouching down to look at Angie better.

"I thought I could help." She started, glancing over to Alice, watching as her fingers flew over the keyboard impossibly quickly, but it was a losing battle. Angela hung her head. "I altered the video and resent it to the Federal Agencies." She admitted quietly. Silence reigned in the small room as even Alice had frozen to stare at the girl incredulously.

"They'll already have our position if they're hacking us. It's probably a distraction. We need to leave. Now." Jill stated, casting her eyes over the room for any personal effects that would need packing. Angela said nothing, aware that she had probably made a big mistake.

"Right. Leave the laptop, it's a liability now. We can pick another up if we need to later." Alice stated, getting up from the bed and lifting Angela's bag on to it.

"No! Daddy's research is on there!" Angela shouted desperately. His research on the T-virus, perhaps how to make the antidote that will save her life... they couldn't leave it! Alice grimaced, flipped the laptop over and pulled the battery. The laptop instantly winked off, but how were they to use it now the feds could get into it? How much of its content had they seen? Alice was good, but she wasn't a computer expert.

Carlos strode into the room, a few items in his hands which he slid into Angie's bag. Alice jammed the laptop and battery in too, zipped it up and held it out for him. Carlos shouldered it and smiled at Angela.

"How did you alter it?" He asked, probably interested in whether the feds would find it anymore believable. Angela described what she had done while Alice, Jill and LJ flew around the motel room, packing what few belongings they had. Carlos steered her out of the room and across the lot to their car, the others following and making sure nothing was left behind. Carlos helped Angela into the middle back seat and then got in to the passenger side. LJ jumped into the driver's seat, leaving Jill and Alice to take the back with Angie.

"Where to?" LJ asked, turning to look over the driver's seat at Alice and Jill, a grin on his face. Before either opened their mouths, the shrill sound of a cell phone rang out.

* * *

><p>A.N.2: They never really explore the mind control in the films, but I thought it would be unlikely to work as intended straight away, especially since they had never done it before or had time to test and refine the process since Alice broke out so quickly after regaining consciousness. There is a Poll on my profile page. I have too many ongoing stories so I would appreciate it if you voted on which stories you would like to see finished first. Thank you!<p> 


End file.
